This blog isn’t about me, but forgive me if I share some personal information in order to give it context.

I have a number of different “jobs.” I do coaching and speak to groups of advisors through my consulting firm. We provide website content, design, and related services through our digital marketing firm. I write weekly blogs for my newsletters and for Advisor Perspectives. I have another book in the works, which I have pitched to my publisher.

I enjoy each of these activities. I know I’m fortunate and am very grateful.

Which brings me to my first point.

The practice of gratitude

It took me a while to figure out that “being grateful” is different from “the practice of gratitude.”

You don’t have to follow a prescribed protocol to practice gratitude. Much has been written about how to do so. Here are some suggestions from Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D., a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

Keep a “gratitude journal”

Pick a time of the day to focus on things for which you are grateful

Vary your gratitude strategy so it doesn’t become stale

Express gratitude to others

While these are all good suggestions, I only do the second one.

Every day, as part of my morning ritual, I spend a few minutes reflecting on the things for which I’m grateful.

As a by-product of making the same time every day available to focus on gratitude, I find similar thoughts occur at other times of the day. For example, after a positive call with a client, instead of moving on to the next project, I’ll stop and think how lucky I am to have had that experience.

The benefits of gratitude

From personal experience, I can tell you that focusing on gratitude makes you a more positive person. It also has other well-researched benefits.

You can find a list of seminal studies on the benefits of gratitude here.